Rainbow Six Vegas 2 - Previews, Reviews, Videos and Cheats

[Chubz]

This thread contains information pertaining to Rainbow Six 2 for both the PS3 and XBOX 360. It contains, hands on previews and any reviews following the games release. All information has been gathered from reputable sites like IGN, Gamespot and Team XBOX. All information will recieve proper source credit.

Latest single player hands on preview.
(source: ign.com )

March 3, 2008 - In November of 2002, Microsoft unleashed a service that has changed the face of console gaming from a solo activity enjoyed in the confines of a living room to a global undertaking where people can meet and interact. It began by supporting the traditional multiplayer matches with 16 players connecting and competing against one another. While playing cooperatively wasn't left out in the cold entirely, it still wasn't as prominently featured as it now is with this generation of hardware. Three years after the launch of Microsoft's online service two games were released -- Gears of War and Rainbow Six Vegas -- that showcased the potential of cooperative play on Xbox 360. While players appreciated the inclusion of co-op in Vegas, it paled in comparison to the experience of the single-player campaign and adversarial multiplayer.

With Vegas 2, Ubisoft Montreal is promising a more streamlined experience where one of your buddies can jump in and out of your game online or off without disrupting the traditional campaign experience of fluid action, cutscenes, and mission briefings.

As anyone who played the original Vegas knows, the co-op lacked many of the presentation values and story elements that were highlighted by the true campaign. But the full Vegas experience shouldn't be contained to a solo experience; thus, we have Vegas 2 -- where hot swapping in and out of a standard mission is entirely possible. We recently got our hands on an early build of Tom Clancy's second trip to Sin City and are happy to report that the co-op is much more refined and accessible than ever before.

One interesting aspect of Vegas 2's co-op, and this is something that might upset some players, is that they've removed the ability to play with four players. Instead you're limited to having an extra member of the Rainbow Six team join up with your trio of soldiers. Essentially, the added player is left out of the core gameplay and can maneuver through the level however he or she sees fit. The host (player one) has control of the other two AI combatants and can tell them to do the traditional anti-terrorist things like moving to cover, breaching a door, and so on while your human buddy works on his own. I have to admit that it did feel a bit odd to be playing as the added player and not having the ability to command at least one of the AI -controlled Rainbow operatives (Why not give each human player control of an AI character?). Even though you still get the whole story experience, you can't help but feel a bit more detached than what Ubisoft likely intended.

So while the campaign is limited to two-player action, Terrorist Hunt still allows four players to hop in, setup a stage with dozens of terrorists and take them down with the utmost prejudice. Much like the standard campaign (limited to two players, mind you), you and your friends can bring your created character -- experience points, equipment and all -- into the game either locally with a memory unit or online.


Work as a team.

In our fairly lengthy play session with the co-op in Vegas 2, we didn't experience a single moment of frame hitches or lag, even when we linked up with three friends to hunt some terrorist scum. It's obvious when looking at the design of the new levels within Vegas 2 that co-op play was pushed to the forefront in the minds of the developers. Nearly every room has multiple (most of the time more than two) points of access where players can strategize and plan a means of attack. One of my favorite moments came as my team and I were trying our fifth approach on a room full of baddies. No matter how we entered the room we kept getting smoked. That is until I noticed a skylight above and decided to time my fast rope with my team's breach and clear move. The result was seven dead terrorists and three rescued hostages.

Despite the fact that the second player does feel a bit detached from the action in the campaign, there's no denying that co-op is a much larger part of Vegas 2's picture than it was in the original. Since any single-player campaign mission can be joined by a friend (unless you mess with a few settings) without disrupting the storytelling, it's a much more attractive package overall. Essentially playing co-op is now no different than working through the mission by your lonesome self (less the communication factor) and at the end of the day isn't that the idea behind the feature?

Be sure to check out our other previews of Vegas 2 to help prepare you

[Chubz]

Multiplayer Hands On:

February 7, 2008 - The month of November in 2006 was the first time that I can remember thinking to myself, "This is why I bought an Xbox 360." Gears of War, Cliffy B's Unreal Engine 3 showcase took everyone by storm with its relentless beauty and pop-and-stop gameplay but it was another game, one that not many people saw coming that nearly stole the holiday crown from Epic's gem. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas managed to go a step beyond what Gears could offer in terms of overall depth thanks to its multiplayer leveling system, but alas, it still wasn't enough to earn our Game of the Year crown.

Now we're venturing back into our nation's most deliciously sinful city to see what Ubisoft Montreal has been able to add to what is still considered one of the Xbox 360's best games. Fear not, fare readers, Rainbow Six Vegas 2 isn't simply new maps and character models, instead you'll find a game that Ubisoft describes as a conglomeration of features that were left on the cutting room floor from the first game. Yes, this is indeed the true Vegas experience in a way only Rainbow Six can deliver.

The star of Rainbow Six has always been the multiplayer, and while it's the single-player and co-op that seem to be getting the bulk of the development attention for Vegas 2, don't think that you Xbox Live lovers are getting left out in the cold. Packed under the hood you'll find 13 new maps, some of which were pulled directly from Raven Shield (some are straight copies, others have seen some architectural changes). Not to mention the new abilities, customization options, modes and the newly designed leveling system.

Some FPS fans might forget that it was the first Vegas, not Call of Duty 4, to first offer a character progression system to its multiplayer component on Xbox 360. The more you played against others on Xbox Live, the higher your rank got. As you progressed new weapons were unlocked and you really got the sense that you were earning something for your hours of dedication. Vegas 2 is taking this feeling of accomplishment one step further with the advent of the A.C.E.S. leveling system which works in tandem with the usual rankings of Private, Lieutenant and so forth.

The black team isn't doing well here.

A.C.E.S. stands for Advanced Combat Enhancement and Specialization and will probably remind some of what was in COD4. A.C.E.S. separates accomplishments into three categories: Close Quarter Battles (CQB), Assault, and Marksman. There are 20 levels for each category and each level yields a different reward. So for earning your rank as a level four Marksman you might unlock a new sniper rifle, whereas unlocking level six in Assault will get you an extra 750 experience points. It's how you takedown your foes that determines which category earns the points.

Killing an enemy that's behind cover -- your bullets can now penetrate surfaces like wood, drywall, and other flimsy substances -- will earn you three points towards your Assault category, as will making a C4 kill, killing a shielded enemy and other things that make sense given the name. Marksman is grounded in long range kills, headshots, or killing someone while they're sprinting or rappelling on a rope. The CQB category is leveled up by using blind fire to take down the bad guys, killing someone from behind, or making a kill while visually impaired. We asked if it would be possible to combine two categories for one kill (for instance, if you land a headshot while blinded) but didn't get a clear answer if it would make it into the final game. Here's hoping it does.

So the A.C.E.S. system earns players weapons, armor and bonus experience, but the rankings are where you'll be able to unlock new aesthetic customizations such as clothing. The team at Ubisoft said that they went to great lengths to add in a lot of new clothing types, and while they may not change your strategy much, it's still nice to show off new duds to your buddies. Just as before you'll be able to equip clothes to your head, face, chest and legs.

Vegas 2 also comes complete with two new adversarial modes of play when dueling on system link, split-screen, or over Xbox Live. The first is called Demolition. It's a classic scenario really; one team is the attackers who are trying to plant a bomb at one of two detonation points, the other team is charged with defending those points. We demoed the mode on a map called CQB Training, an environment flush with bombed out cars, targeting dummies and lots of tight indoor corridors that constantly reminded us that the map was designed for close-quarter encounters. After planting the bomb the roles flip-flop a bit as the attackers are then defending their planted bomb and the defenders are trying to attack that point to try and defuse it within one-minute's time. Needless to say once the bomb is armed things can get seriously heated.

The next mode which we demoed on a map called Villa is known as Team Leader. It's the classic VIP setup with a twist. Each team has a leader that, once killed, strips the rest of the team of their ability to respawn. It goes without saying that you'll want to keep your VIP alive for as long as possible. Unlike other games, Vegas 2 manages to provide incentive for the VIP to venture out into the world bag a few kills. If you're killed by the opposing VIP then you're eliminated from the round. You'll need to walk the fine line of playing aggressively while still keeping yourself hidden from the bulk of the other team. Since Villa is a multi-tiered environment with plenty of rappel points to get the drop on the enemy, it was important to keep my character's head on a swivel and to keep an eye on the location of my team's VIP (designated on the HUD by a star). Though you can achieve victory through the barbaric method of downing the opposition, Team Leader also gives each team one extraction point. Get your VIP to that point and you're home free.

New modes? Check. New maps? Check. New leveling system? Check. But what about any real changes to gameplay? Fear not, you'll have a few new abilities to utilize online (or off). First and foremost, you can now sprint. The duration isn't as long as it is in COD4, but it's enough to quickly escape a grenade blast and move from one piece of cover to another without fear of getting easily gunned down. It's clear that Ubisoft Montreal didn't want to turn Vegas 2 into a run and gun type of game and while hearing that there's a new sprint feature might make some fans shutter in fear, we can say with certainty that isn't the case.


Is it safe to go out?

Next up is the retooled radar system. By "retooled" we mean that the ever-present radar in the upper-right hand corner of your screen has been removed. Now you'll have the ability to perform a thermal scan which brings up a similar picture-in-picture view of the battlefield as the traditional radar but you won't know which bodies are enemies and which are friendly, you'll just know where they're located on the map and only for a short time. It forces a much more tactical approach to gameplay as players will now have to peak around most corners and keep an eye on their six if they hope to survive.

Even though it's clear that Ubisoft Montreal isn't trying to reinvent the wheel with Vegas 2's multiplayer, there's still enough new content to please the massive stable of fans. Picking up the controller and venturing back into Sin City was a blast to be sure, and it's also nice to know that each addition enhances the player's experience in some way. The new A.C.E.S. leveling system works wonderfully with the traditional rankings and the fact that you can now bring your accomplishments to the single-player game is some seriously sweet icing on the cake (check back in a few weeks for our detailed impressions of single-player and co-op).

After spending a handful of hours with Rainbow Six Vegas 2 it's clear that the latest rendition of the long-running series is one sin that will be worth committing once March 18 rolls around.

[Chubz]

Screeshots:
(From IGN)

[Chubz]

Videos:
(Game trailers.com)
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[Chubz]

I would definitly like to get some PGP rounded up on this game for some games

[Raider1one]

Dude this is another must buy for PS3/360.. I had the R6 Vegas part 1 and it was my Fave shooter untill Call Of Duty 4 came out.. Will definetly be pickin this one up..

[b_roy7]

Oh sh!t those graphics are hot!

[Crono139]

Target guarantees to have it on the shelves by 4PM on Wednesday.

You'll get a $10 gift card with the purchase.